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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida – Kawhi Leonard has the Los Angeles Clippers within one win of the franchise’s first trip to the Western Conference finals.
They still don’t celebrate anything.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Leonard said. “We are still fighting.”
Leonard finished an assist before his first playoff triple-double and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Denver Nuggets 96-85 in Game Four on Wednesday night (Thursday Manila time) to take a 3-1 lead in the Serie.
Leonard filled in the stat sheet with 30 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. He has scored 30 or more points six times this postseason.
Backup Montrezl Harrell added 15 points to help the Clippers, who can shut out the Nuggets on Friday night.
The mood in the locker room on the brink of such a momentous moment was subdued.
“Zero reaction,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “We haven’t done anything yet.”
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After building an 18-point lead in the second quarter, Los Angeles saw Denver fall back and tie at 48 early in the third. The Clippers responded with a 21-5 run to gain some separation and then resisted a late run from Denver.
“Our continuity is growing,” said Paul George, who scored 10 points in nearly 27 minutes while dealing with foul problems. “This team is getting more and more comfortable together.
Nikola Jokic had 26 points and 11 rebounds for a Nuggets team in an all too familiar situation. They fell in their first-round series against Utah before becoming the 12th team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit.
“This is a different opponent, obviously. A deep, very talented team,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “But I think we have confidence in being a resilient group and being a team that when everyone else has ruled us out, we’ve found a way.”
Los Angeles relied on a stellar defense, holding Denver to 39.7% shooting and forcing three shot clock violations. The Nuggets never led the game.
One of the leaders of the defensive charge was George, who helped hold Jamal Murray to 6 of 15 shots and 18 points.
“We knew that when we were catching him,” Rivers said of George’s defensive tenacity. “Sometimes he gets lost, with PG, because he’s a great shooter. The better shooter you are, the more people forget how good you are defensively.”
There was a small dispute midway through the fourth quarter when Jokic fell to the ground after feeling like he had been fouled. As he got up, he grabbed Patrick Beverley, who was lifting the ball off the ground. Beverley took a step toward Jokic before heading toward the bench.
It was Beverley who said after Game 3 that Jokic makes it difficult for umpires with “lots of punches.”
TIP-INS
Clippers: Backup G Lou Williams finished with 12. … The Clippers had a 38-22 margin in points in the paint.
Nuggets: Murray finished with seven assists and Jokic six. … Denver was 9 of 27 from 3-point range.
GOALKEEPER NIGHT
Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. scored 13 of his 15 points in the second quarter. He didn’t have a basket after halftime.
When asked what the Clippers did differently in the second half, Porter said, “I just didn’t touch the ball. They didn’t do anything different.”
GREAT PRAISES
Rivers tried to find a suitable comparison for Jokic, a center who likes to consider himself a point guard.
“I don’t know if there’s a comparison. It has a bit of everyone,” Rivers said. “He’s got all the footwork and movements of a (Hakeem) Olajuwon, the lanky and … goofy intelligence of Kevin McHale. Shoot, man, he’s just good. He’s the best big pass I’ve ever seen, I think, ever. .
“It’s very good and it’s very frustrating to see it in a movie.”
REST OR TRAVEL?
Rivers doesn’t see any trips in these series inside the bubble as something positive. But he noted that there is also less break with contests every other day, which may negate the positives.
“My guess, it probably equals everything,” Rivers said. “If you gave a player a travel day and two days, he would probably take care of that (play) every other day.”
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